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SEYCOHAIDS 2012 - Consensus Statement and Conference Road Map

Crossroads Hotel- Malawi: 6th - 8th November 2012

1.0 Preamble

We, the delegates attending the Southern
and Eastern Africa Youth Conference on HIV and AIDS and Reproductive Health
Rights for Sustainable Development (SEYCOHAIDS) 2012, held in Lilongwe, at the Crossroads
Hotel, Malawi, from 6th to 8th November 2012, on the
theme: Building
Capacity for AIDS and Sexual Reproductive Health Rights through Science,
Technology and Best Practices, make
a statement as follows:

2.0 We recognize and appreciate:

2.1 The support of the Government and
people of Malawi for hosting the inaugural Southern and
Eastern Africa Youth Conference on HIV and AIDS and Health Rights for
Sustainable Development.

2.2 The sponsorship and support from
UNAIDS, HiVOS, UNICEF, UNFPA, loveLIFE, GLOHOMO and National AIDS Commission of
Malawi all other partners who contributed towards the success of the Conference.

2.3 That during this conference, we
have been able to share best practices and lessons in HIV and Adolescent Sexual
Reproductive Health (ASRH) interventions.

3.0We note with concern that:

3.1 Of the five
Million young people living with HIV
globally, about 80% are in sub-Saharan Africa (UNAIDS);

3.2Maternal mortality and HIV and AIDS are the two main causes
of death among young women 15 to 24 years in sub-Saharan Africa;

3.3Sixty-seven percent (67%) of all married adolescent women
who want to avoid pregnancy for at least the next two years are not using any
method of contraception and 12% are using traditional methods; and this can be
attributed to lack of access to services and information, as well as cultural
and religious barriers;

3.4Fifteen (15)
countries in Africa are in the top 20 hotspots that practice child marriages in
the world. This is attributed to a number of socio-economic and cultural issues
including poverty, religious and cultural practices as well as deeply
entrenched attitudes and negative mindsets of the people involved;

3.5There is a lack of consensus on the agreeable age for marriage
for the girl child in Malawi and Zimbabwe, with the current ages set at 15
years and 16 years respectively;

3.6The
Constitution in Malawi stipulates that a girl who is under the age of 15 years
can get married if the parents consent to it. This however is a gross violation
of the rights of the child to education, right to protection from all forms of
sexual exploitation, and all forms of violence, right to seek and receive
information, right to participate freely in
cultural activities, right for protection from all forms of
exploitation, right to interact freely with their peers, and right to health;

3.7While poverty continues to be blamed as a major cause and
driver for child marriage, there is no evidence that early marriage alleviates
poverty, but rather creates a cycle of poverty;

3.8The lack of a reviewed and operational Youth Policy in
Malawi has been highlighted as one of the hurdles to effective implementation
of youth development programmes in Malawi.

3.9The legal frameworks in the region fail to adequately punish
sex offenders, with light sentences being served to the offenders as compared
to other “petty” crimes like theft.

3.10Most regional governments have failed to put in place
concrete and effective programs for support of adolescents living with HIV; and
for provision of youth friendly reproductive health services.

3.11Climate change has a direct impact on health and development
issues, and the most affected are women and young girls as they are the ones
directly involved in fetching firewood and water, and in farm work; though they
rarely benefit from the outputs of farming as they lack control over the produce and land.

4.0 We acknowledge that:

4.1 There are existing internal
capabilities and resources within the region at individual, community, organizational,
national and regional levels that can form the basis for future capacity
building interventions.

4.2 African governments are committed
to the review process of Youth policies and plans and to expedite the reviewed
documents. However the processes are
taking too long in some of the countries, and there is a lack of meaningful
participation of youth in the processes.

4.3 The regional governments have ratified
the African Youth Charter; however we recommend that it is domesticated and
used to inform the Youth policies and development programs in the respective
countries.

4.4 Funding alone cannot deal with the issues
of child marriages, as well as HIV and SRH support. The community systems
require strengthening in order to support effective HIV and SRH programs and interventions
for adolescents at the community level to achieve universal access to health and
the MDGs by 2015.

4.5 There are best practices and models
of HIV and SRH capacity building in the region that can be replicated and scaled
up; including improved family planning programs targeted at the youth, to
prevent unplanned pregnancies and unsafe abortions.

4.6 There are lessons learnt from the
past that will inform the future particularly with regard to developing local capacities
for effective programming of HIV and AIDS and SRH and community systems
strengthening.

5.0 In view of all these factors, We call
Upon:

5.1 Delegates, civil society
organizations, governments, private sector, and other stakeholders, as well as regional
economic communities in the Eastern and Southern Africa region to commit
themselves to adopt these resolutions, and play their role as partners in the implementation
of effective HIV and SRH interventions for adolescents by 2015.

5.2 Governments to increase and sustain
annual budgets for adolescent HIV and SRH initiatives to work towards the goal
of Getting to Zero - Zero new HIV infections, Zero discrimination and Zero AIDS-related
deaths.

5.3 Development partners to increase
their support for adolescent HIV and SRH programs and work in tandem with
governments and civil society to streamline funding mechanisms and technical
assistance for HIV and SRH capacity building and work towards concrete action
plans with clear targets and results.

5.4 Regional governments to have
operational National Youth Policies by June, 2013, with a plan of action about
how it should be operationalized; and released to the stakeholders for use and
reference by March 2013;

5.5 Regional African governments to
come up with laws that can govern the use and abuse of drugs For example, the
Mututho Law in Kenya may be used as a best practice in a bid to cub alcohol
abuse among the citizenry;

5.6 Young people to stand up and speak
with a collective voice, to demand their rights to prevention, care and support
for HIV, as well as youth friendly SRH services; and take up the empowerment
opportunities available for them.

5.7 Communities to become more engaged
and involved in support for HIV and SRH/ interventions for adolescents, and scale
up initiatives for sustainable local responses.

6.0
We, the youth delegates commit:

6.1 To complement governments’ efforts
in tackling youth development issues through our different networks.

6.2 To adapt, scale up, and share the
best practices we have learnt from the conference.

6.3
To champion the youth to demand
their rights to prevention, treatment, care and support for HIV, as well as
youth friendly SRH services; and take up the empowerment opportunities
available for them.

6.4 To leverage funding opportunities
from private sector and development partners for regional and country youth
networks.

6.5 To monitor government and donor
commitments on intervention youth programmes on HIV and SRH/FP rights.

We make
this declaration in full hope that the stakeholders will work to ensure its
fulfillment and in appreciation of the leadership role, we as youth will need
to perform in holding them to account. We also bear in mind that “There is nothing
for youth without the Youth.”